Magic Johnson’s association with the Lakers saw him go from a legendary player to a coach and a player again before hanging up his boots. But his Lakers connection wasn’t limited there. He bought a minority stake in the franchise in 1994 before selling it in 2010. Johnson would then return to the LA Lakers in 2017 after being appointed president of basketball operations by team owner Jeanie Buss. That stint, however, ended abruptly and on a sour note, with Johnson alleging backstabbing behind the scenes.

Johnson won five NBA champions and was the Finals MVP three times during his initial 12-year stint with the Lakers. However, before the 1992 season, he discovered that he had tested positive for HIV and immediately made the decision to retire. Johnson would make a comeback to the court in the Barcelona Olympics, as part of the gold medal-winning “Dream Team.” Four years later he would return to the Lakers as a player, but retired permanently after only one season. According to Buss, had it not been for his HIV, the Lakers legend would have had a much longer career in the league.

In a recent interview with Dwight Howard, Buss discussed how Johnson has worn many hats for the franchise over the years. Like countless fans, she too wonders what could have been, had HIV not impacted his career. “He only had like a 12 year career until he had to retire because of HIV. I mean he made a couple comebacks, he got to play in the Olympics in ’92 the first Dream Team but it shortened his career. I mean he could have played 20 years,” Buss said.

After his first retirement, Johnson would join the Lakers as a coach for the 1994/95 season. After winning five of their first six games, the team would lose five in a row, leading the former player to announce that he would quit after the end of the season. His tenure ended with a 5-11 record. Yet, his legacy as a player and his impact on and off the court will always go down in the annals of Lakers and NBA history.

But after his HIV diagnosis, the basketball legend also became the face of fighting back against the deadly disease. In 1992, President George H.W. Bush recruited Johnson for a seat on the National Commission on AIDS. After his comeback with the Lakers that year was soured by public perception of the disease, Johnson decided to educate people about it.

Johnson held a roadshow, and according to his estimate, he visited 300 high schools, colleges, and churches to discuss what it was like to live with the disease and how HIV could be prevented. Jeanie Buss recognized the contribution Johnson had in creating awareness about HIV.

Buss and Johnson enjoyed a strong working relationship and their friendship played a big role in the Lakers legend being appointed as the team’s basketball operations president in 2017. Before this role, he was on board as an adviser to Jeanie Buss. One of the main reasons he was promoted was to help the team reach the playoffs for the first time in five years.

However, what was supposed to be a long and fruitful partnership ended in 2019 with Johnson not happy with how things worked behind the scenes.

Magic Johnson said he stepped down to preserve his relationship with Jeanie Buss

Having signed LeBron James to the franchise in his second season, Johnson would have hoped to reverse the fortunes of the franchise. But injuries and poor performances meant the team failed to make the playoffs for a franchise-record sixth straight season. In the press conference where Johnson announced the decision to step away from his role, he said he did it to save his relationship with team owner Jeanie Buss.

He said, “I want to always preserve our relationship with her,” an emotional Johnson said, “and I think I had more fun when I was able to be the big brother and ambassador.” Johnson had not even informed Buss of the move to quit because he feared she would have talked him out of it. While at the time the decision seemed shocking and came without any prior warning, the Lakers legend revealed why he quit in an episode of ESPN’s First Take later that year.

He said, “Things got going in the right direction. And then I start hearing, ‘Magic, you’re not working hard enough. Magic’s not in the office.’ So people around the Lakers office was telling me Rob was saying things. And I didn’t like those things being said behind my back.”

Johnson felt his power was being undercut by others in the Lakers hierarchy. Lakers president of business operations, Tim Harris was getting more involved with Johnson’s side of things, something that the Lakers icon didn’t appreciate and he hinted that Jeanie Buss didn’t stop that.

Still, the two maintain a healthy relationship and respect as evidenced by Buss’s recent comments about Magic and what could have been had the player stayed healthy.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger